Business News

The vast majority of accountants are in favour of the auto-enrolment pension scheme the Government is planning to launch.

Most private sector workers do not have an occupational pension. A survey by Chartered Accountants Ireland members found 96pc in favour of auto-enrolment.

President of Chartered Accountants Ireland Shauna Greely said the picture emerging is grim.

“With only 40pc of private sector workers making any provision for their retirement pensions, more than half of these workers are instead going to rely on the State pension for the bulk of their income in later life,” she said.

“This will result in many people living on the poverty line.”

The survey found that 96pc of respondents are concerned about Ireland’s pension deficit and are in favour of auto-enrolment.

This would see employees automatically enrolled in a pension scheme by their employers, and employers and employees would both contribute to the pension fund.

“We recognise that affordability will be an issue for some workers but auto-enrolment allows those who absolutely cannot afford to provide for a pension to opt out while keeping those who can (and will not actively opt out) in the system”, said Ms Greely.